Following her passion for bread of every shape and kind, veteran baker and business owner Kristin Wheelock recently started Mountain Girl Bakery in Georgetown.
Her bakery, at 401½ Sixth St., may be physically small but is big on the magical smell of baking bread, the power of which drew in customers like a siren song on a recent Friday afternoon.
Wheelock’s goal is simple: to have her customers experience “the best damn bread around.”
Wheelock has lived in the area for 11 years and said she has baked in one form or another for the past 30 years, starting when she was 14.
She moved to the county in the early 2000s after working as a ski instructor for eight years and then began working for Silver Plume’s Sopp & Truscott Bakery. A few years later, she helped run Whispering Weeds Organic Cafe and Bakery in Idaho Springs, which later moved to Evergreen. She then opened another restaurant called Dandelions in Bergen Park before selling that and starting Mountain Girl Bakery.
“I always just wanted to have a bakery, no food, just a bakery,” Wheelock said. “(It’s) the challenge of making it work and being the boss and making all of the decisions.”
She said Georgetown made sense as a location for her newest business venture because it’s close to her home outside Idaho Springs. She added that some Georgetown locals already are frequenting her shop.
While she sees a lot of local traffic at her business, the majority of her customers seem to be tourists from Denver and other countries.
“I’ve got regulars already from Denver. Every time they’re up, which is every week, they buy two loaves of bread,” Wheelock said.
The Mountain Girl Bakery focuses on organic bread and baked goods.
“I’m really big into the organic stuff. We’ve always had organic cafes and have been working with the same people in Arvada where we get all the grains and flours. The sugar is organic,” Wheelock said. “Nothing is overly sweet. It is more European style so you can taste the flavors.”
While there are breads aplenty, the shelves also have raspberry cinnamon swirl pastries — her best-selling item — cookies, brownies and tarts.
Wheelock said her business name came about because she doesn’t like being in the city — she’s a mountain girl.
“I have to be in the mountains. I like to visit the city but wouldn’t want to live in it,” Wheelock said.
The Mountain Girl Bakery is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact Ian Neligh at couranteditor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreekcourant.com for updates and breaking news.